


Sofa So Good

by Liadt



Category: Rising Damp (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-27 20:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21398248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liadt/pseuds/Liadt
Summary: A new tenant has moved in causing Alan to reflect and ask a question which is interpreted in the wrong way.Fluff with a bit of angst.
Relationships: Rupert Rigsby/Alan Moore (Rising Damp)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Sofa So Good

It had been a tiring day for Rigsby and he lay on the sofa tangled up with Alan, his head resting on his chest. The television was on, but he wasn’t really watching it, he was dozing with his eyes open. Earlier, a new tenant, a young, female student, had moved in with the help of her father. The father was paying her board and was also the second son of a Lord and Rigsby, therefore, wanted to impress the man. He had made an attempt to spruce up the house. It was as seedy and rundown as ever, but some surfaces had been coaxed into gleaming and the smell of damp was replaced by the chemical sent of cleaning products. The father had deigned to let his precious girl stay after Rigsby told him, repeatedly, how accommodation was at a premium in the town. Before the father left, there were glowering stares and hints as to what would happen to anyone who touched his daughter, especially with him being a British shooting champion. Rigsby assured him no gentleman callers were permitted. Now the father had gone, not to be seen again until the end of the student year in several months time, Rigsby could collapse on to the sofa. Pretending to be landlord of the year was very stressful. 

Alan idly played with the material of Rigsby’s shirt. In the past, if anyone had told him he would enjoy these quiet times being close to his lover the most of all of being coupled up he would have called them a soppy fool. In those days, though, he thought the main point of being in a relationship was to have sex on a regular basis, otherwise why bother? Not that he wanted to give up the sex, but it was nice just being like this. Contentment might not be very exciting, thought Alan, but it was underrated. It was strange how things had panned out; when he moved here who would have thought he would end up in his landlord’s bed and Rigsby would drop his pursuit of Ruth for someone else. 

“Do you still think of Ruth?” asked Alan.

“Mmm? That’s out of the blue,” said a sleepy Rigsby. 

“Do you, though, romantically? You were after her for ages.”

Rigsby craned his head over his shoulder to look at him, quizzically. “That was then. I will always have the utmost admiration for Miss Jones, but I’m with you now. Even if she came in here and threw herself at me I wouldn’t leave you. What’s with the questions?”

“It was seeing the new tenant settling in. It reminded me of what it was like when I started living here.”

“The delightful Debbie?”

“She is, isn’t she?” said Alan, with a dreamy smile.

“Ah, I thought as much,” said Rigsby, accusingly. 

“I can admire from afar. If you can still admire Ruth, can’t I do the same?”

“Debbie was giving you the eye too.”

“Was she?”

“Yes!” Rigsby, no longer relaxed, sat up.

“I didn’t notice,” said Alan. 

“Hardly a surprise. I’ll put it down to you being distracted by her father expounding on his gun skills. Is this why you’re asking about my feelings for Miss Jones, so you can pursue her guilt free? Have you decide to go back to women?” Rigsby had worked himself into a state of insecurity. 

Alan pushed himself up. He’d asked an innocent question and it had blown up into something else; disaster had to be averted. “I was thinking how nice it was lying here with you a moment ago. I wasn’t thinking of breaking up. If I had designs on Debbie I wouldn’t have tried to reassure her dad he didn’t have to worry about any amorous intentions by draping my arm around you. I don’t know why he didn’t relax after the way his eyes went wide: it was obvious he knew we wouldn’t be chasing his daughter. Some people can’t help jumping from one prejudice to another,” said Alan. 

Appeased, Rigby tutted and rolled his eyes – it seemed it was a day for misunderstandings. “If I was him I wouldn’t be able to relax after you’d gone on about how marvellous I’d been in helping you settle in when you were a first year. He probably thinks I make a habit of seducing naive students.”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” said Alan, crestfallen his attempt to help had gone awry. “And I made the first move.”

“It’s too late to tell him now. Not that it matters as I don’t have to worry about having a room standing empty,” said Rigsby, cheered by the thought of regular rent payments. 

“Funny how things change. When I first came here I thought I’d have a room all to myself and I was annoyed at having to share and now I’d hate to have a room all to myself.”

“It is funny: I used to hate students.”

“You still do. You complain about them all the time.”

“All, but one then.”

“Who’s the special one?” said Alan, leaning in close.

“I’m not sure I can remember who.” Rigsby put his head to one side to feign forgetfulness and smiled.

“I’ll remind you,” said Alan and kissed him.


End file.
